The word on … Gary Brown

Sporting News, The, Dec 6, 1993 by John McClain

On a searing summer afternoon at training camp in San Antonio, Oilers General Manager Mike Holovak stood on the sideline watching the run-and-shoot drills. Holovak was growing tired of the daily questions about running back Lorenzo White's holdout and his demand of $2 million per year. On this day when the temperature had to drop to reach 100, Holovak made the kind of prediction that sounded as if he had been spending too much time in the sun.

"If this kid ever gets a chance," Holovak said, nodding in the direction of seldom-used running back Gary Brown, "he could be one of the best. I don't mean one of the best on the team, either. I'm talking about one of the best in the league."

Almost four months later, Brown is making Holovak look like a soothsayer. An eighth-round pick in 1991 from Penn State, Brown has been a stunning success in recent weeks. In three starts in place of the injured White, Brown has rushed for 439 yards, giving the Oilers their most powerful and potent running back since Earl Campbell.

"I'm the same person I was before," Brown says. "The only thing that has changed is I'm playing."

Brown, 24, is a 5-foot-11, 233-pound battering ram who mostly was a special-teams player until this season. When White suffered hamstring injuries in both legs, Brown got his chance. He rushed for 360 yards in consecutive games against Cincinnati and Cleveland, the most prolific back-to-back rushing performance by an Oilers back since Campbell in 1981. He then rushed for 79 yards and a touchdown in Houston' 23-3 victory over Pittsburgh last Sunday.

"Now everybody wants to give me a pat on the back," Brown says. "Nobody knew who I was three weeks ago, but it's kind of hectic now. At the record store and the grocery store, people have come up to me recently. It's strange, because I've been going to those same stores for two years and nobody noticed me. It's different now, but I'm enjoying it."

Brown figures he better enjoy it while he can because he has heard the cliche that a player doesn't lose his job because of an injury. "I can accept going back to the bench because that's what my role is," Brown says. "Lorenzo's the starter, not me. He doesn't deserve to lose his job because he got hurt."

The Oilers have never said that. White, who rushed for 1,226 yards and caught 57 passes last season and went to the Pro Bowl, should be the most glamorous backup in the league when he is healthy.

"We want Lorenzo to get healthy so we can have two good backs," Coach Jack Pardee says. "We're not going to put Lorenzo back in unless he's 100 percent. When he's ready, we have to find a way to use both of them to take advantage of their talents. Right now, there's no hurry to rush Lorenzo back."

No hurry, indeed. Brown has been waiting patiently for his opportunity. In his first two seasons, he carried 27 times, but he gained 172 yards for a 6.4-yard average. He has rushed for 549 yards in 95 carries for a 5.8 average this season. That kind of average invites comparisons to Campbell, although Brown knows it's much too soon to take stock in them.

"It's fun, but I don't deserve that yet," Brown says. "Earl Campbell is one of the greatest running backs to ever play the game. Besides, I'm not trying to get into that star thing. If I get a shoe contract and do shoe commercials, then I'll feel like I'm a celebrity."

Brown may be the biggest bargain in the league. He signed a one-year contract for the minimum increase to $150,000. Because of White's holdout, Brown got a lot of playing time in preseason.

It also was White's holdout two years ago that caused the Oilers to notice Brown. "I think they drafted me just to use me in camp," Brown says, "but Lorenzo held out and I got to show a little something, which I needed to do.

"I went to the Senior Bowl, but the scouts didn't have much to say, and I didn't expect much after flip-flopping positions (he played safety his junior year) and then breaking my foot as a senior. I couldn't show anybody anything when I went to the combine because my foot wasn't completely healed, so I didn't run a good 40 and I didn't do any (agility) tests well. I really put myself in a hole. I figured I better start putting out resumes because this wasn't going to happen."

Not only has Brown been a godsend for the running game, but he has helped the passing game. When facing the Oilers' run-and-shoot offense, most defenses deploy five men near the fine of scrimmage playing run and the remaining six playing pass. Brown has clobbered the five-man front and forced defenses to switch, loosening things for the passing game.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Brown says. "I'm out on the field playing with Hall of Famers, and I really can't believe it's me."